Silence never sounded so good.
A medieval stealth based game, where you steal and sabotage, outwit the guards, and all with an engaging story.
THE MECHANISTS
The game starts out with somewhat disconnected missions, but after certain events take place Garrett the Master Thief (the character you play as) will have a purpose. Each mission flows easily into the next, with distinct "Thief" style FMVs (full motion videos) interspersed between each mission to bind them together. One gripe I had though [potential spoiler] was a portal that transported you to a particularly different location, one that seemed slightly out of place at first, but it accommodated the story quite well in the end. "The Mechanists" will play a large part in this game, they're a sect that is attempting to make life better via mechanical inventions... and that's all I'll say as I'd rather not spoil the story for those that intend to play it. I'd just like to say that the story starts out weak, but gets better later, and it ultimately caused me to want to finish the game itself.
KEEPING TO THE SHADOWS
You'll have objectives on each mission, which may change as the situation may not play out as predicted. There are three difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, Expert. I highly recommend "Expert", because I guarantee that you'll get the most out of every mission. It will give you a genuine Thief experience if you choose this one. In Expert you'll often be forced to avoid killing guards/innocents, resulting in the use of more stealthy techniques like wielding your Blackjack (black thumpy thingy) in the shadows, awaiting the nearby guard to repeat his patrol route that you've seen him take recently, unsuspecting of what will soon meet with the back of his head.
As well as avoiding enemy line of sight, in Expert you'll have a few extra goals - as either a side mission or something you must do to complement the main goal. The main difference in the majority of maps will be the need to find more "loot" though, and this can sometimes force you to explore more areas than you would have needed to if the difficulty was lowered. It can potentially be time consuming, so it's best to play in small bursts, but it will allow you to play the maps to their full potential, and it's good for completionists that want to explore every crevice in a map (although it often won't come down to that!). There was only one map where I got fustrated with trying to find an extra bit of loot to complete a mission, but if you pay attention to small details in the environment you'll reach the loot goal easily as the developers have placed more than enough throughout any single location.
Most of your time will be spent sneaking around in the shadows, pilfering from the rich, and pinching keys off guards' belts to unlock doors. There's secret rooms in many areas, so paying attention to the smallest details may just lead to a hidden lever or button that might shift a bookshelf or section of wall. There's an abundance of lore about as well, presented in the form of handwritten letters unintended for your eyes, or extracts from in-game books. They'll lead you to clues, or sometimes their purpose is to simply aid in immersing you into the local environment.
Make sure you're sound is turned up loud, and having surround sound or headphones does help. You'll need to hear footsteps from an approaching guard, or your own, as well as the NPC speech (both dialogues that may provide aid in your main goal, and utterances that reveal to you the state of an NPC - whether they're unaware, suspicious, or hostile). The way you choose to move also plays a large part in your stealthiness. You can creep, walk, or run. Although you might not think it, sometimes darting out of the shadows and pouncing towards the back of a guard, then landing a Blackjack knockout mid-air can be more effective than walking towards them slowly on a noise prone metal floor.
THE THIEVES ARMOURY
There's a large inventory of equipment that you can choose to outfit yourself with before every mission. You'll have a new preset inventory for each mission, but the previous loot gained from the last mission will turn into the funds with which you can use to support yourself in the current one - although on most (early) missions you'll find any extra equipment you may need by searching the map. A few examples of equipment and their uses are: the Water Arrow for dousing exposed torches, Rope/Vine arrows for reaching item caches and sometimes mission critical locations, Slow Fall Potions to avoid losing health as well as making a loud crash upon landing from extreme heights, Gas Arrows (my favourite) for inducing unconsciousness from afar - without causing death, and the Fire Arrow and Proximity Mines for when there is no alternative - particularly when faced with mechanical enemies.
ARE THOSE FOOTSTEPS I HEAR?
The graphics are dated, but they seldom detract from the experience - even if they don't stand a chance against the lighting, modelling, and textures of today. But I didn't have trouble identifying any items purely from graphics as their specific characteristics have been captured well. Sound plays a big part in creating atmosphere, and they've done a great job in emulating the echoing of voices/footsteps in large marble halls, or the dulled sounds of a conversation in a small carpeted room on the other side of door. Silence has never been more attractive in any game, but you'll seldom be left without accompanying ambient sound unique to each environment.
One memorable area of note is the haunted library in a mansion in one of the final missions. It was very atmospheric (at least on a 5.1 sound system with the volume moderately loud), and the use of ghostly voices here set the mood really well. In fact it reminded me of the spooky atmosphere in System Shock 2, in particular the way the "sub-plot" played out (Not suprising as Looking Glass used the same game engine for both games, and their story telling style is always impressive).
HOW ANNOYING...
Just a few minor issues I found that annoyed me, but were far from being game-breaking, and as far as I know they could just WinXP issues.
With thievery being the main game, I though that lock picking could've been implemented a bit better. You have two lock picks: square toothed, and triangle toothed; and you just "use" them on a locked door. Doors that can be picked will give you both visual and auditory feedback. If you can't completely pick a door with one lock pick, then you use the other one until it stops and you use the other lock pick again, or you may successfully open the lock. Although not very satisfying, there are occasions when it is, such as when time is against you and you must pick a lock quickly before a guard comes back, or turns around and spots you. But for a game of its age, the method is acceptable, and the you'll likely be distracted by the desire to know what is on the other side of that door.
I found an inconsistency with "silent landings" annoying. Holding CTRL before falling off a low ledge mostly resulted in a soundless landing, but other times the player character's feet would make a clatter, drawing unwanted attention.
Another one regarding player movement, was an issue with climbing up on certain ledges. There were a few rooms (rooms with a particularly interesting floors) where I struggled to pull myself up onto an edge. Although possible, I often didn't end up on the ledge, and falling back down just resulted in a clutter of feet, raising the suspicion of guards. But it wasn't a critical matter because it was an alternate route anyway.
CONCLUSION
I found this second iteration to be much better than the first, as the need to confront zombies and dinosaurs was removed, and the levels focused completely on Garrett's art, that of being a Thief. I played this recently, and even after playing newer games, this stands out as unique, I guarantee it will be a memorable experience. As with other sneakers (like Splinter Cell), one important thing to note is that as a stealth gamer you must be patient, scout your destination, and plan your moves before you perform them - otherwise you'll meet with unwanted situations, good timing is important. If it's not obvious already, I highly recommend this game for those with 2 to 4 hours to spare for each of the missions.
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!